The three presidential hopefuls have kicked off their campaigns with
heavy contributions from retired top brass from the intelligence
community. The involvement of former top commanders has resulted in a
clandestine war of strategies since before the legislative elections on
April 9. The Jakarta Post' s Rendi A. Witular takes a look at the figures
moving the pawns on the chessboard of the political arena, and the
campaign strategies being applied on the ground. Here are the stories.

The ancient Chinese military philosopher Sun Tzu once said that victory
in a battle was decided not on the battlefield, but in the preparation.

Ingrained with this teaching ever since their first years as cadets,
presidential hopeful Gen. (ret) Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and rival vice
presidential hopefuls Gen. (ret) Wiranto and Lt. Gen. (ret) Prabowo
Subianto have called on a host of retired military top brass as their
trusted advisers to put Sun Tzu's doctrine to work in securing the
presidency.

As the incumbent, President Yudhoyono has the upper hand in applying
his intelligence strategy long before the election, apparent in his
Democratic Party's almost threefold surge in votes as it swept the April
polls.

Dubbed a "silent operation" by his inner circle, Yudhoyono`s
strategy includes not only mapping out and identifying potential sources
of votes, but also the strengths and weaknesses of his rivals, according
to a Democratic Party legislator.

"It's obvious we've employed retired military generals for
intelligence gathering. We've been working [on the legislative and
presidential elections] since long before voting day," says
Democratic Party spokesman Max Sopacua, who has been with Yudhoyono since
the 2004 elections.

"We're applying Sun Tzu's philosophy; winning a war is not decided
in battle, but in how it is prepared."

In 2005, Yudhoyono, who spent most of his military career in the
territorial ranks, began assembling his retired military peers with
intelligence background to design a strategy for a victory in 2009.

Among them, according to his election team, are Maj. Gen. (ret) Achdari,
deputy chief of the Indonesian Military's (TNI) intelligence agency (Bais)
in 1994; Maj. Gen. (ret) Sardan Marbun, director of the TNI's intelligence
center between 1999-2000; and Maj. Gen. (ret) Soeprapto, a former
assistant personnel to the Army chief of staff between 2000 to 2001.

Besides buffing Yudhoyono's image, their job also includes recruiting
high-profile figures and compiling information on potential threats from
political rivals.

The Golkar Party, chaired by rival candidate Jusuf Kalla, once accused
Yudhoyono's inner circle of masterminding internal rifts, through
intelligence-style operations, in Golkar, the National Mandate Party
(PAN), the National Awakening Party (PKB) and the United Development Party
(PPP).

Presidential spokesman and Democratic Party executive Andi Mallarangeng
has repeatedly denied the allegations.

Analysts say Yudhoyono's squad of former spooks may have met their
match in the lineup picked by Prabowo, the running mate of presidential
candidate Megawati Soekarnoputri.

Gen. (ret.) Hendropriyono, former head of the National Intelligence
Agency (BIN) between 2001 and 2004, Maj. Gen (ret) Theo Syafei, former
Udayana military commander between 1993 and 1994, and Maj. Gen. (ret)
Muchdi Purwopranjono, former TNI Special Forces (Kopassus) commander in
1998, are lending their considerable talents to the Megawati-Prabowo team.

Prabowo, himself a legendary Kopassus commander between 1995 and 1998,
is spearheading the campaign team by drawing up its tactics and
on-the-ground execution.

"The experiences of the retired generals in the race are shaping
the style of the campaign," says ProPatria Institute military analyst
Hari Prihatono.

Other examples include the raising of "neoliberalism" and
"pro-foreigner" allegations against the team of Yudhoyono and
Boediono, the US-educated former central bank governor.

"Yudhoyono's team prefers a more drawn-out territorial strategy,
in which they lay the groundwork in peace time and before any war
erupts," Hari says.

"The team works mostly in a defensive mode, as stability and
control are their utmost priorities."

The third team in the equation, that of Kalla and his running mate
Wiranto, tend to be less aggressive than the Megawati-Prabowo ticket, Hari
says, perhaps because of Wiranto's character being shaped within the
Army's strategic reserves, or Kostrad.

But analysts believe the military nuances in the Kalla-Wiranto ticket
are less pronounced that in the two other tickets due to Kalla's
astuteness in engineering political ploys.

"Kalla doesn't need military-style strategies to win the election.
He is by nature a smart guy. Wiranto is on board to help deal with voters
in Java," says businessman Sofjan Wanandi, part of the inner circle
of Kalla's campaign team.

Political analyst Maswadi Rauf of the University of Indonesia says
Kalla is catching up fast, jacking up his low popularity through the use
of more concrete actions, comical speeches and punchy comments for the
media to devour.

"If the other candidates don't adapt to Kalla's style, they risk
losing a lot," Maswadi says.

"And I guess Kalla's strategy isn't engineered by former military
top brass."

Maswadi stresses the "star war" between former officers is
necessary to nurture democracy, as long as active TNI officers do not join
the fray.

"The good thing is these former generals are spread across several
parties. It would be perilous if all of them backed just one party,"
he says.

"They can also prevent each other from recruiting active TNI and
police officers."

Despite the glistening show-within-a-show, the TNI and the police are
unlikely to improve in terms of structure and welfare.

"In their time, these former generals failed to make the TNI a
more professional institution," Hari says.

"Whatever they're playing at now, the TNI will remain in a poor
state regardless of the pledges they made to fix it."

- Additional reporting by Erwida Maulia and Alfian

Key players in the SBY-Boediono team <br>

Lt. Gen. (ret) Tiopan Bernhard Silalahi. The most senior member of
Yudhoyono's advisory team. Planning assistant to the Army's chief of staff
(1986) and former minister for state administrative reform (1993-1998).
Role: Strategic adviser. <br>

Gen. (ret) Djoko Suyanto. TNI commander (2006 and 2007). Role: Leading
Echo Team to mobilize regional support through military territorial
technique.<br>

Maj. Gen. (ret) Yahya Sacawiria. Assistant deputy for social politics
to the TNI chief of staff (1998). Role: Campaign team strategist and field
commander, ensuring all strategies are well implemented. <br>

Maj. Gen. (ret) Sardan Marbun. Director for TNI's intelligence center
(1999-2000). Role: Strategist and propaganda chief. Also gathers
information about negative cases involving rivals. Not on the official
list of campaign team members registered with the KPU. <br>

Maj. Gen. (ret) Soeprapto. Assistant to the Army chief of staff (2000
to 2001) and currently independent commissioner for publicly listed PT
Indosat, the nation's second-largest telecommunications company. Role:
Leading Sekoci Team to pool support from noted figures, including
businessmen and religious leaders. The team has been around since 2004.

Lt. Gen. (ret) Sudi Silalahi. Cabinet secretary. Role: Strategic
planning adviser. Also tasked with raising support from activists and
religious leaders. Not on the official list of campaign team members. <br>

Purnomo Yusgiantoro. Energy and mineral resources minister. Role:
Adviser and donor. Not on the official list of campaign team members,
denies any involvement in the campaign. <br>

Lt. Gen. (ret) M. Yasin. Former deputy to Yudhoyono as coordinating
minister for security (2001-2004). Spearheaded Yudhoyono's 2004
presidential election campaign, where he mobilized support from retired
high-ranking military brass and their supporters. Jumped ship after the
April 2009 legislative elections to side with Megawati and Prabowo. <br>

Tjahyo Kumolo. Chairman of the PDI-P at the House of Representatives.
Role: Mobilize support at the provincial level and from prominent figures.
<br>

Hundreds of human rights activists and victims on Wednesday rallied
outside the headquarters of a well-known rights organization to protest
against vice presidential candidate Wiranto, who was delivering a speech
there.

The retired general and former head of the Armed Forces, who is the
running mate of Vice President Jusuf Kalla for Golkar, was invited by the
Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI) to discuss his human rights
agenda.

I cannot agree with the fact that [Wiranto] was invited here, to our
place where we promote human rights," said Ruyati Darwin, the mother
of one of the victims of the May 1998 riots, which took place when Wiranto
was military chief.

The rally was organized by several human rights organizations,
including Kontras, Imparsial, the Setara Institute, Human Rights Working
Group, Jakarta's Legal Aid Institute and the Solidarity Network for
Victims and Their Families (JSKK).

We will not say anything to him," said Suciwati, the widow of
slain human rights activist Munir. "It is just absurd that we talk
about how to promote human rights with a human rights violator."

In a response to the criticism, YBLHI's chairman, Patra M. Zen, said
that the organization would remain neutral. "We should hear from
others if we, ourselves, want to be heard," Patra said, adding that
the meeting did not affect his support for efforts to take human rights
violators, including Wiranto, to court.

A UN panel probing the bloodshed surrounding East Timor's 1999
independence vote has implicated Wiranto, but he has never stood trial.

--------------------

The Jakarta Post [web site]

June 10, 2009

Wiranto Defends Human Rights Record

Vice presidential candidate Wiranto, who has been linked to various
atrocities involving the military, braved Wedensday a forum organized by
the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI) to assess his human rights
record.

Most people still consider me a perpetrator of human rights violations,
but I have to accept it as a consequence of my past duties," he told
a public discussion to hear his platforms on human rights and human
security.

Wiranto was accused of crimes against humanity during the May 1998
riots and after an independence vote in East Timor in 1999 due to his job
as the Indonesian Military chief at that time. He has never prosecuted for
the cases.

It's not that I'm untouchable. I followed all the process but I was
neither a suspect nor defendant in the past human rights cases," he
said.

During the discussion, dozens of family members of the May riot victims
and human rights activist were protesting outside the YLBHI building. They
unfurled posters and shouted "Bring Wiranto to trial".

There's a growing concern that if I was elected the vice president,
settlement of past human rights violations would be disrupted. But, I
support the spirit of human rights violations settlement," said
Wiranto, the running mate for presidential candidate Jusuf Kalla. (fmb)